This invention relates in general to wheelchairs and more particularly to seat suspensions for wheelchairs. Most particularly, the invention relates to resilient seat suspensions for wheelchairs.
Wheelchair seat suspensions which absorb shock are well known. A conventional wheelchair seat suspension typically includes a single front pivot arrangement and a rear shock absorber. A common wheelchair seat suspension includes two frame members connected to one another at a pivot point. One of the frame members is permitted to pivot relative to the other frame member. The pivotal frame member is often referred to as a swing arm. Typically, one of the frame members is a seat frame member and the other frame member is a base frame member. A shock absorber is commonly positioned between the two frame members. By convention, the shock absorber is vertically oriented. The shock absorber is typically positioned beneath the seat. As a consequence, the vertical dimension of the shock absorber dictates the minimum elevation of the wheelchair seat. This may pose a problem if a low profile wheelchair configuration is desired. In addition, the shock absorber may interfere with the placement of other wheelchair components. For example, on power wheelchairs, a conventional shock absorber may interfere with the placement of drive wheel motors, batteries and the like.
What is needed is a wheelchair seat suspension that is amenable to a low profile wheelchair configuration and that is less likely to interfere with the placement of other wheelchair components.
The present invention is directed towards a wheelchair seat suspension that is amenable to a low profile wheelchair configuration and that is less likely to interfere with the placement of other wheelchair components. The seat suspension comprises at least one substantially horizontally, disposed elongate spring. The spring is adapted to be supported by the wheelchair frame. At least a portion of the spring is adapted to support at least a portion of the seat.
Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.